Closure or seal for doors, packages and the like

ABSTRACT

A device for locking or sealing doors or other closures or objects, said device consisting of a relatively lengthy strip of metal or other suitable material of substantially square cross sectional shape, said strip being provided at one end with a widened and flattened disk or head having an aperture through it and through which the body of the strip can be passed, said strip being capable of flattening under pressure to enable an enlarged head to be formed on a part of the strip after such part has been passed through the aperture in the head.

United States Patent 1 Serino CLOSURE OR SEAL FOR DOORS,

PACKAGES AND THE LIKE Inventor:

[76] Vincenzo Serino, Via Centuripe No.

34, 00174 Roma, Italy Filed: June 7, 1971 Appl. No.: 150,369

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 10, 1970 Italy 51290 A/70[52] U.S. Cl. 24/16 PB, 292/307 R [51] Int. Cl B65d 55/06, B65d 63/00[58] Field of Search 24/16 PB, 16 R, 30.5 PB, 24/150 PP, 206 A, 208 A;292/307 R; 40/21 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1910 Frederick292/307 R 8/1969 Chidley et al 292/307 R Primary ExaminerDonald A.Griffin Attorney-Munson & Fiddler [57] ABSTRACT A device for locking orsealing doors or other closures or objects, said device consisting of arelatively lengthy strip of metal or other suitable material ofsubstantially square cross sectional shape, said strip being provided atone end with a widened and flattened disk or head having an aperturethrough it and through which the body of the strip can be passed, saidstrip being capable of flattening under pressure to enable an enlargedhead to be formed on a part of the strip after such part has been passedthrough the aperture in the head.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures 1 CLOSURE R SEAL FOR DOORS, PACKAGES AND THELIKE The present invention has reference to a closure or sealing stripintended for use upon freight cars, vans, doors, packages or bales ormany other objects, and one which will serve as an indicator, showingthat the object to which it isapplied has not been subjected totampering.

It is an object of the invention to provide a one-piece article of thischaracter which can be easily and economically made; which can bereadily applied as a seal and which cannot be easily broken or detachedwithout indicating that it has been tampered with.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a closure or seal, constructedaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a continuous strip from which a number of the seals can beproduced;

FIG. 3 shows the closure seal extended through the clevises of a doorand door frame;

FIG. 4 shows how the closure or seal can be applied to the strapping ofa package or bale; and

FIG. 5 shows the seal used on cables or other cylindrical objects.

Referring to the drawing, one of the seals or closures is indicated atl, the same being preferably composed of a stiff but bendable metal thatis preferably but not necessarily of square or rectangular shape incross section. For the greater part of its length, the body of theclosure or sea] consists of a relatively thin and lengthy strip ofuniform cross section and provided at one end with a wide, flat tabportion 2. The lengthy part of the strip thus extends as a tail piecefrom the tab.

Provided through the tab 2 is a hole 3 which is of square shape and alittle larger in size than the cross sectional shape of the body 1 ofthe seal.

The closure or seal can be made singly or in can be produced rapidly andinexpensively by successively cutting the closures from a continuousstrip such as is shown in FIG. 2.

The closure or seal is made, as above stated, of square or rectangularshape, but it will be apparent that it might be made in circular orother shape without departing from the spirit of the invention. Theclosure can, for identification purposes, be made in various colors andthe tabs or heads can be variously shaped and bear suitable printed orembossed indicia. The closure may be in single form or or may consist ofthe number of the units as shown for example in FIG. 3.

In use the closure or seal is inserted through the elements such as theclevises in FIG. 3 for' example, and the strip portion is passed throughthe hole 3 in the tab 2. The strip is of suitable material and by theuse of a suitable flattening or compressing tool, the strip can beformed with one or more heads or tabs 5 located beyond the apertured tab3. These tabs 5 may be of substantially the same size and shape as thetab 2 so that the finished and fitted-on closure would be substantiallyalike at both of its ends.

By the production of the enlarged head or tab 5 located beyond theapertured tab 2, a closure of loop formation is provided and one whichresults in the production of a closure or seal which cannot be openedwithout being broken, defaced or destroyed.

As indicated in FIGS. 3 to 5, the closure or seal can be readily appliedto doors, to fastening straps for bales or packages, to cable connectors(FIG. 5) or employed in many other environments.

What I claim is:

1. A closure or seal comprising, an elongated strip of squashablematerial having a flattened, widened head at one end, said head having acentral aperture of greater size than the cross sectional size of thebody of the strip so that the body of the strip can be passed throughthe aperture to form the strip into loop shape, the strip having a partextending beyond the head, said part having a tab portion greater insize than the aperture and substantially of the same shape and size asthe head, said tab portion consisting of a compressed, flattened portionof the strip, the strip being of preferably rectangular shape, theaperture in the head being of substantially similar shape, the crosssectional shape of the body of the strip facilitating the flattening ofit into the tab portion.

1. A closure or seal comprising, an elongated strip of squashablematerial having a flattened, widened head at one end, said head having acentral aperture of greater size than the cross sectional size of thebody of the strip so that the body of the strip can be passed throughthe aperture to form the strip into loop shape, the strip having a partextending beyond the head, said part having a tab portion greater insize than the aperture and substantially of the same shape and size asthe head, said tab portion consisting of a compressed, flattened portionof the strip, the strip being of preferably rectangular shape, theaperture in the head being of substantially similar shape, the crosssectional shape of the body of the strip facilitating the flattening ofit into the tab portion.